Chidorigafuchi Cherry blossoms and the beautiful night time illumination

The Cherry Blossom season is a month away towards the end of March (This year its predicted between March 25, 2015 and March 31 2015 for the blossoms) and its time to mark our calendar for this year’s Hana-mi (flower-viewing) events in the metropolis. Personal favorite : The Chidorigafuchi Cherry blossoms at Kudanshita, nearby the Indian Embassy and Yasukuni Shrine. Below snaps are year 2014 hanami season.
The spot is right in central Tokyo easily accessible 2 minutes on foot from the Tokyo Metro Kudanshita Station on the Tozai Line. We love the moat, the boats in the water and the Sakura flower combination and as a family usually visit every year.
Chidorigafuchi Cheery BlossomsChidorigafuchi in Kudanshita is close from the Shinbashi area and no wonder that you can see the beautiful Tokyo Tower along-with the flowers at the night time.
Chidorigafuchi and Tokyo TowerThe blossom is not pink , but more of white flowers and we thought to catch a B&W snap of the location to remove the influence of other colors. See this snap below and you can get the sense of the contrast of the dark waters and well lit flowers.
Chidorigafuchi Illumination B&WComing back to the color world, the streets are well lit in the hanami season and the crowds are are in large numbers so expect to have a slow steady walk of around one hour to cover the whole garden.
Night time illumination at ChidorigafuchiIf you are interested you can book the boats, manual oars, and have a romantic view of the flowers from the boats. Its so crowded, so we have never tried it yet in night, but only in daytime. Its a great experience.
Chidorigafuchi boatsYajiro Shinagawa, an ex-samurai from the Meiji-era. His stern look and the delicate flowers are a somewhat interesting combination.
Yajiro ShinagawaThe crowds really go crazy with the cameras and the flowers…The Sakura is beautiful since it last only for a fleeting moment in a year (I think ex-PM Koizumi Junichiro once made this statement when he was asked why he was resigning at the height of his popularity, perceived as “early resignation”). It is this fleeting nature of the blossoms which gives it the importance, so is life. Move on when you are at your best and don’t linger around too long…
Sakura flowers at ChidorigafuchiThe tree outside the Indian embassy in Kudanshita is full in bloom and long lines of people walking by to enjoy the flowers.
Indian embassy corner at KudanshitaA couple on way back from a hard day’s work find time to come to Kudanshita and enjoy the blossoms with the night-time light-up.
Love and SakuraThe lion statue outside Yasukuni Shrine surrounded by spring festival lanterns and cherry blossoms
Yasukuni Shrine entrance SakuraOn the way back I took a silent byway to avoid the crowds; peaceful and pleasant—that’s what the cherry blossom experience to me is all about.
Sakura night time street illumination

6 Comments

  1. Sally

    Reply

    Never went in the night to Chidorigafuchi. This is a must-do this year. Thanks…

  2. Sakura Bazaar Kudanshita 2015

    Reply

    Any schedule of the Sakura Bazaar this year at the Indian embassy in Kudanshita?

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